My husband and I have 4 kids, 1 of whom joined us in 2010 in Ethiopia. We're currently in process to bring home our son from China. We all live imperfect lives in Texas, where we carefully maintain a balance between harmony and chaos. My interests also include chickens, Ebay, politics, thrift stores, building, and old books, not necessarily in that order.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Yep, still waiting...So for the good news, it looks like we will be okayed to expand our age range, which hubby and I are really excited about. After all these months of waiting and all the learning and research we've done, we've really felt led to go older. I'm really hoping for a referral on the older end. That being said, we could still end up with a baby, and we would be overjoyed no matter what!For the bad news, I have absolutely no idea how much longer we'll be waiting. Not a clue.

For all those of you that didn't know, Child #2 had an assessment on Monday. It took almost a year to get the appointment, so it was met with a bit of expectation. The doctor spent about two hours with us going through all sorts of questions and exams. Basically, he's a year or a year and a half delayed in a few areas (like fine motor, gross motor, some cognitive). She said he fits all 17 points for Combined Type ADHD. She also said he has something else that I have totally forgotten the label for, but it's a delay thing that we can recheck later. First, we're going to try medication and see if that improves some of the other stuff. I have very mixed feelings about this. I honestly used to think ADHD was just a label that school administrators put on hyper boys so they could medicate them and make them easier in class. I do not generally agree with medicating young children, but I also have to admit that my son is NOT normal (not that any of us are normal...). He is impulsive, disruptive, fidgety, unmotivated and has the attention span of a gnat. That seems kind of harsh now that I read it. I'm at the point where I am willing to try it, if it will change his behavior, make him able to learn, and stay focused on tasks like cleaning, dressing, etc. I'll let you know what I think of it next month, or possibly sooner. We'll see.

Child #5 Timeline

11/2015 - Apply to Holt, get home study packet11/2015-7/2016 - think maybe we are done7/17/16 - See his photo on agency email and realize we're not7/18/16 - Review his file7/19/16 - Say Yes, send in home study packet7/22/16 - HS packet goes to social worker7/25/16 - Review committee officially matches us (pending HS)7/26-8/19/16 - Flurry of paperwork, doctor's visit, back to back social worker's visits and background checks8/22/16 - LOI is uploaded8/23/16 - All paperwork and background checks are in, social worker is writing HS8/24/16 - Pre Approved by CCCWA!8/26/16 - HS off to Holt for approval9/7/16 - HS back from Holt to local agency with minor revisions9/12/16 - HS comes in the mail9/13/16 - Send I800A application in9/20/16 - Trip to the capitol to get the last of my docs state certified9/30/16 - Received fingerprint notice10/3/16 - Walked in for fingerprints10/11/16 - Picked up most docs from Consulate10/12/16 - I800A approved!10/19/16 - Approval arrives in mail, get it notarized10/20/16 - Get it certified and dropped off at Consulate10/25/16 - Picked up and then FedEx-ed to agency10/28/16 - DTC! (Dossier to China)11/2/16 - LID (Logged In Date)12/1/16 - moved to "In Review"12/22/16 - moved to "Matched"12/23/16 - LOA!!!!12/29/16 - signed hard copy LOA, sent in I80012/30/16 - I800 Lockbox1/13/17 - Text confirmation1/23/17 - I800 Approval1/30/17 - GUZ number1/31/17 - RTF cable2/21/17 - Article 5 Pickup